Wheat and corn prices fell sharply on world markets this week. Analysts at the Sofia Commodity Exchange (SCE) said in their weekly review that December wheat contracts in Chicago dropped on Thursday to about $230 a tonne, the lowest in three months.

The SCE says the fall comes from hopes of talks. Moscow says it agrees in principle to restart three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv, which could begin after 10 November. Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022. Odesa is still blocked, and Black Sea terminals have almost stopped work after drone attacks.

Wheat is also getting cheaper in Chicago and on Euronext, the European exchange. On Wednesday the price there fell from about €244 to €232.75 a tonne, a loss of €8.75 in one day. Euronext funds are cutting their net long positions, which are bets on higher prices.

The pressure comes from large world stocks and a big Russian harvest. The forecast for Argentina's wheat crop has been raised by 13%.

SCE experts say the wheat market could still turn. Odesa is still blocked, and the Black Sea terminals have almost stopped work after drone attacks. Ukraine's wheat exports are expected at 14.4m tonnes, after analysts at SovEcon cut their forecast. In Russia, winter crop sowing is the slowest since 2013.

Low prices have brought buyers back: Egypt bought for the first time in months, and Jordan announced a tender for 120,000 tonnes.

Corn in Chicago keeps falling because of the harvest in the US. December contracts are at about $181 a tonne, after the price fell for six sessions in a row until Tuesday. The review says dry weather is speeding up the harvest, though so far 44% of the area has been cut, against an average of 52% for this time of year. Since the start of the season, the US has exported 34% less corn than a year earlier.

On Euronext, a tonne of corn for November delivery costs about €291–295, or about $327–331. On Tuesday it rose, the only grain in Europe to do so. On Wednesday the price fell to €291.25 because of record imports. In October, Brazil shipped 1.65m tonnes of corn to Europe, against about 200,000 tonnes a year earlier. EU corn imports are 40% higher than last year, and European corn costs about $145 a tonne more than American corn.

Sugar fell from its highs. Investors took their profits, funds are not buying, and mostly small speculators are trading on the exchange. Processors' orders were filled during the drop. Raw sugar in New York for March delivery fell on Wednesday to about $444 a tonne, the lowest in two weeks. White sugar in London for December delivery fell from about $561 to $533.90 a tonne.

Since the start of the month, the SCE has seen deals for milling wheat at €198 a tonne. Now there is only an offer to buy feed wheat at €192.

In the industrial goods sub-round, there were deals for propane-butane at €510–530 per 1,000 litres. Heating oil cost €1,509.66–1,622.68, and gasoil for ПКЦ cost €1,519.25–1,594.14. A95N petrol traded between €1,341.67 and €1,410 per 1,000 litres, and A100 at €1,550. Diesel B6 is between €1,541.67 and €1,600, and diesel E5 is €1,522.61.

Pellet deals are at €415–465 a tonne, ferrous scrap at €108.80, and lead scrap at €646.

In food, canned goods are still on offer. A week earlier there were deals for pâté, stuffed peppers, bean stew and more. Now strawberry jam is offered at €3.25 and rosehip marmalade at €3.71 a kilogram.